


Time Ticks Down

by blinke182



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Dimitri is a blushing mess, F/M, Soulmate-Identifying Timers, everyone is born with a timer that counts down to when they meet their soulmate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-04-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:40:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23443369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blinke182/pseuds/blinke182
Summary: Everyone is born with a timer on their wrist. This timer counts down to the exact moment you’ll meet your soulmate. Dimitri’s showed he was to meet his soulmate in the next five minutes.The house leaders walked up to Remire Village, pursued by bandits.*spoilers for the Blue Lions route*this was cross-posted to fanfiction.net
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 1
Kudos: 75





	1. Dimitri's Timer

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I got the writing bug again and my fic writing fingers started itching so here, have a multi chapter thing I wrote mostly in one sitting because it'd never get finished if I didn't.
> 
> *edit: This is likely not getting finished in one sitting, this it turning out longer than I thought, but I want this done. I'm normally a one-shot person, this is more than I usually write.

The three house leaders were in trouble. They were being chased by thieves, after their gold and likely their lives. Dimitri was a bit preoccupied with something on his wrist. His timer. 

Everyone is born with a timer on their wrist. This timer counts down to the exact moment you’ll meet your soulmate. Dimitri’s showed he was to meet his soulmate in the next five minutes. Claude nearly clapped him upside the head when he noticed Dimitri staring down at his wrist. 

“What are you doing, Your Highness? We’re being chased by bandits! Pretty sure you’d like to live to see that timer run down!” Claude said, a smirk showing despite the danger to their lives and belongings. 

“Oh, of course, my apologies,” Dimitri said as they came up to the village. They had been camping nearby Remire Village, when bandits showed up. The three had a brief moment of respite as they came up on an inn. They had heard tell that some mercenaries were in town and were seeking their help. Edelgard did most of the searching, as Dimitri was quite preoccupied by the timer on his wrist.

“Dimitri, please pay attention,” Edelgard said with a sigh. Dimitri snapped up and walked over to join her and Claude at the door of the inn. She knocked on the door. Dimitri spared a glance at his wrist, the timer had gone down to two seconds.

One.

The door opened and a man answered. Dimitri almost balked until he noticed the young woman right behind him. She was expressionless, not even a smile or curious look. She glanced down at her wrist, and her eyes shifted between the three. Her timer must have run down too, but she wasn’t certain which of the three was intended for her. Her face showed none of her thoughts. 

Alois had shown up after they dealt with the bandits, and Edelgard almost got an axe to the face, and invited the man, by the name of Jeralt, and his daughter Byleth to Garreg Mach Monastery. They talked all the way back to the monastery, Dimitri intent on looking at his now spent timer. The timer stayed on zero, claiming he’d already met her, and he was at least a little bit certain that person was Byleth. It only made sense. 

However, Byleth was a bit puzzled. She stared at her timer, also spent, wondering exactly which of these strangers could be meant for her. She didn’t want to ask about their timers, Claude liked to keep his sleeve down over his, and Edelgard’s had been spent for the longest time, a fact she was a little hesitant to share, but Byleth noticed her timer was on zero, and was the slightest bit faded. But Dimitri was almost entranced by his, he wouldn’t stop staring at it. Byleth would wager a guess as to which of the boys it was, but wasn’t sure because whenever asked, Claude would always redirect the question away from his timer. 

Dimitri was certain Byleth was his soulmate, but Byleth wasn’t sure if it was Dimitri.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Byleth is their new professor???

Dimitri couldn’t believe it, Byleth was the professor meant to teach the Blue Lions? He had such trouble keeping himself together that he almost collapsed in Dedue’s arms. His vassal was starting to get more than a little worried about the prince. Dimitri could barely string two words together in shock. It wasn’t until Ingrid gave him a swift slap in the face that he was able to pull himself together.

“Dude I can’t believe you’re this worked up over a girl,” Sylvain said with a laugh, narrowly dodging an Ingrid slap of his own. 

“Just because you hit on anything with a pulse, you can’t understand what it’s like to meet your soulmate, Sylvain!” Ingrid scolded. Sylvain put his hands up in a surrender. 

“I think it’s rather adorable for His Highness to be all worked up over love,” Mercedes giggled. 

“I can’t believe it’s the new Professor, that’s so funny!” Annette laughed.

“Your Highness, are you alright?” Ashe said when he noticed Dimitri had his head down on the desk. 

“I’m quite alright, Ashe,” Dimitri said, raising his head to show he was blushing furiously.

“Your Highness…”

“Honest. And please just call me Dimitri, we’re not in the Kingdom, no need to be so formal.”

Ashe grumbled a tiny bit but dropped the subject for now. 

“This is gonna be a fun year,” Sylvain remarked with a laugh. Felix just laughed a little. 

“You look ridiculous.”


	2. Your Tomatoness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mock Battle, Lord Lonato, and Sylvain being an asshole.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is a Dimileth fic but honestly I needed to write out the scene with Ashe.

The mock battle went rather well. Byleth was an incredibly capable commander, managing to crush both houses in the battle. Edelgard and Claude were rather impressed. 

The celebration was not a huge one but was fun regardless. Ingrid stuffed her face with food as usual. Sylvain hung around all the women, but at the end, he found himself nursing a black eye. Felix just kind of sat there, not really partaking until Ashe offered him a plate of very not-sweet food, which he couldn’t resist. Mercedes was chatting with Annette about Byleth and how capable she was. Dedue stayed back and mostly watched until Ashe also offered him a plate, not taking no for an answer. Dimitri was trying to work up the courage to talk to Byleth, with Sylvain trying to coach him. Mercedes had handed him something cold to hold against his face to keep the swelling down.

“Dude, you already know she’s the one, just go talk to her!” Sylvain said, then hissing at his eye. 

“Why am I accepting coaching from you? Who’s the one nursing a fresh black eye?” Dimitri jabbed. Sylvain feigned hurt. 

“How dare you, downplaying my abilities like that! I just got unlucky! You, however, need to grow a pair and talk to her! She’s our professor and your soulmate, better start now,” Sylvain said, lowering the cold thing from his face. He had already started to bruise a little. Dimitri sucked in a breath in sympathy. 

“You sure you don’t want Mercedes to heal that up?”

“It’s fine. Now, go talk to the Professor!” Sylvain almost pushed Dimitri towards the professor, causing Dimitri to stumble a little. He took a deep breath and walked over to her.

“Oh, Dimitri, how are you?” the Professor greeted. Dimitri chanced a look back at Sylvain, who had asked Mercedes to use some magic to heal his eye.

“I’m doing quite alright, Professor. You’re quite a capable commander,” Dimitri said, doing his absolute best to hide his nerves. 

“No, you guys did all the hard work, it was a rather close battle,” the Professor stated. Ah, so humble, Dimitri thought. 

“I wouldn’t say that,” Dimitri said. He looked at her, and he could have sworn he saw the faintest hint of pink wash over her cheeks for just a second. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ashe was crying. Or at least, trying to, but it seemed the tears had dried up. Mercedes and Annette were doing their best to cheer him up with baked sweets that Mercedes had made, and Dimitri had even gone to get the sugar candies Ashe liked, despite his protests. 

They had just killed Lonato. And Ashe took it really hard. One would expect him to, Lonato was like a father to him. 

Ashe had taken to holing himself up in his room all day, and Byleth was starting to get a bit worried. It had been a week, and she’d only seen him leave his room once to go to the cathedral. She finally plucked up the courage to go visit him. She knocked on his door.

“Please go away,” a faint voice called from inside the room. 

“Ashe,” Byleth called.

“Professor? I hate to be rude, but I’d like time to myself right now.”

“Ashe, I’m not leaving until you let me in.”

A sigh, and a few seconds later the door swung open. Ashe’s face was red and streaked with tears, and he was trying his best to wipe them away with a cloth. “What do you need, Professor?”

“Everyone’s starting to get worried about you. You don’t usually pull a Bernadetta.”

Ashe laughed a little at that, but it was short lived, as the frown came back all too soon. He stepped away from the door, waving to let Byleth know she was welcome to enter. She closed the door behind her.

“I know I’m taking it really hard, and I know it’s not good for me to shut myself away like this, Professor. I just don’t understand why Lonato did this, why he did what he did. He would have known the church would do something about it,” Ashe said.

“I don’t have the answers for you, Ashe. But what I do have is this,” Byleth said, revealing a card signed by all the students from all the houses. Ashe smiled at that, tearing up a little looking it over.

“Everyone’s worried about you, and just wants you to pull through this. And you will. It does take time, but you will. For now, I want you to rejoin society a little. Come eat. I haven’t seen you at the dining hall all week. I was getting worried you hadn’t eaten all week.”

“Dedue’s been bringing me food. Granted I haven’t had much of an appetite. I’ll join you,” Ashe said, standing up. He placed the card on the desk and finished drying up his tears.  
When he got to the dining hall, he was met with plenty of smiling faces, all glad to see him out and about. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He couldn’t deal. Nope. The poor prince was a blushing mess at the end of training. Byleth had taunted him the entire time, causing Dimitri to get flustered and lose focus, allowing Byleth to get the edge on him.

“Professor!” Dimitri whined indignantly. “That’s hardly fair!”

“Dimitri, you can’t get distracted in the middle of battle. That’s how you lose. You can’t lose focus for a second, that’s how you get hurt at best,” Byleth said, her fingers glowing with white magic to heal a cut on Dimitri’s hand. “Do you think your enemy won’t be taunting you sometimes? Battle is hardly a silent affair.”

“I know, but you didn’t have to bring up the timers!”

“I simply asked if you knew anything about Claude’s timer. I must admit, I’ve been rather curious since the day we met. He keeps his timer completely under wraps.”

“All I know is he wants to hide it. Other than that, I know nothing.”

“And Edelgard’s has been spent for a while, correct?” Byleth asked.

“Yes, she said it finished when she was about four, according to her father. That’s when she met Hubert,” Dimitri explained.

“I see, and you know this how?” Byleth taunted.

“Because Edelgard is my friend, we talk about things sometimes,” Dimitri said, the tiniest bit flustered.

“I know yours is spent too, who’s the lucky lady?” Byleth said, causing a breath to hitch in Dimitri’s throat. 

“I’m not certain, I wasn’t quite paying attention when it ran out,” Dimitri lied. He knew full well how glued to his timer his eyes were in Remire Village when he first met Byleth.

Byleth smirked, but Dimitri cut the conversation short, excusing himself with the excuse that he was tired and wanted a bath. Byleth waved goodbye and retired to her own quarters. 

Dimitri was red in the face. And of course, on his way to take his well-deserved bath, he met up with none other than Sylvain. 

“So? How’d training with the Professor go, lover boy?” Sylvain taunted. 

“Shut up, Sylvain,” Dimitri said, trying to hide the figurative steam coming out of his ears.

“Never. So? I take it you had fun, Your Tomatoness,” Sylvain remarked.

“We got on the conversation about timers. She asked about mine. I told her I wasn’t paying attention when it ran out,” Dimitri said. Sylvain laughed a little.

“Knowing you, that’s the biggest lie ever. You obsessed over that thing since we got to the Academy because you knew it was gonna run out soon. You and the other house leaders get back and you’re talking about how you think you met her, then it turns out to be our new professor,” Sylvain remarks.

“Sylvain…”

“When you found out she was our professor, you were so flustered you couldn’t string two words together.”

“Sylvain, that’s enough. I shall take my leave!” Dimitri said, wishing that he had run into literally anyone else as he left.

“Don’t forget, her birthday is coming up soon!” Sylvain called out with a laugh, “Please don’t give her a dagger!”


	3. Sylvain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Birthday Gifts and Sylvain goes missing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I said last chapter about the Ashe scene, I had to write a Sylvain scene. Mostly wanted a reason for Sylvain to spur worry in everyone and for Byleth to snap at someone.

It was, in fact, Byleth’s birthday soon. Dimitri had no idea what to get her. It wasn’t until he convened with the rest of the Blue Lions that he figured it out. He’d give her a brooch with the Blue Lions’ logo on it. She was sure to love it. He wrapped it in a simple paper, attached a letter he had written for her, and went to meet her. She was almost finished getting ready for the day, just missing her coat. Dimitri almost wondered how she survived the warmth of spring with that coat on. 

“Professor, I heard it was your birthday, so we got you a gift,” Dimitri said, handing her the small box. Byleth took a look and a hint of a smile appeared on her lips.

“Thank you, Dimitri,” she said, placing the gift on her desk to open later when she had a moment to spare. Dimitri could almost feel a small bit of pink gracing his face.

“You’re welcome, Professor, it was actually Ashe’s idea,” he said, and Byleth turned to him as she slipped her coat on.

“I’ll be sure to thank him then,” Byleth said, the hint of smile still on her lips. She wasn’t one to wear her emotion on her sleeve, that’s for sure. 

“Anyways, I’ll see you later, Professor,” Dimitri said nervously. Byleth stifled a hint of a giggle as he left. She found him adorable, but it may be considered inappropriate to court while he was her student.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Miklan was dead. Sylvain had struck the final blow. And it almost broke him. 

“Divine punishment,” Rhea had called it. 

Byleth knew that a simple chat would not fix the problem. But when Sylvain went missing the next day, Garreg Mach was put on high alert, intent on finding him. Byleth did not want to face Margrave Gautier if she lost his son. 

After intently searching for a solid three days, Sylvain was still missing, and everyone was incredibly worried. Dimitri even broke a spear in one hand when Byleth mentioned Sylvain was still missing. She made a mental note to never end up on his bad side. 

Ingrid and Byleth flew around the monastery on the backs of pegasi, and a little bit beyond, trying to find the boy. Byleth spotted a hint of what looked like red hair poking out from behind a large rock, and she swooped down towards it. It was, in fact, Sylvain, seated on the ground next to a large rock, leaning against it. How he managed to evade everyone for three days baffled her. He looked ragged, like he hadn’t changed clothes or even bathed the entire time he was missing.

“Sylvain?”

“Professor? You found me…” Sylvain stood up, dusting off his clothes.

“Why did you run off?” Byleth said, softening her tone. She noticed Ingrid flying towards her, and Byleth put a hand up to signal her to stay away for the moment. Ingrid took the hint and hung back. 

“I didn’t want to hear everyone’s ‘condolences’ after what happened. Miklan is dead, by my hand, and that’s the end of it. He stole the lance, and he paid for it with his life. There’s nothing else to it,” Sylvain ranted before sitting back down on the ground. 

“It’s not easy to-”

“Professor, I don’t want to hear any fancy ‘words of wisdom’ right now, what I want is to be left alone to brood in peace.”

“Are you sure that’s what you want? You’ve been missing for three days, and everyone is worried sick! The Knights of damned Seiros are searching for you, worried you might be DEAD!” Byleth shouted in one of the few moments she got riled up. “Have you even eaten since we got back from the mission?”

“No.”

“Sylvain Jose Gautier, get on the Pegasus and come back to Garreg Mach with me. You need to eat, take a bath, and rest,” Byleth said sternly. Sylvain shuddered at the use of his full name, and obliged. Byleth flew them both back to the monastery, where Sylvain got cleaned up and was seen in the dining hall, eating like he hadn’t seen a decent meal in days. Only Byleth knew that was actually true.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Sylvain.”

“Get lost, Dimitri.”

“I will not. How have you been doing?”

“Dimitri, I said get lost!”

Sylvain stormed off in a huff, leaving a bewildered Dimitri behind. Byleth came up behind him. 

“He’s not going to be okay for a while, Dimitri. He wants his space, let him have it,” Byleth said. Dimitri jumped at that, he hadn’t heard her coming. 

“Oh, Professor! You startled me. I’m just worried about Sylvain, he’s been like this since the incident with Miklan,” Dimitri said, his eyes on the dormitory stairs where he saw Sylvain run off to. 

“Dimitri, everyone deals with this stuff differently. Ashe cried and holed up, Sylvain got angry,” Byleth said, a hand on Dimitri’s shoulder. Normally, he would have jumped at the sudden contact, but he was too worried. His eyes moved to the water in the fishing pond.

“I know, it just pains me to see him like this. I’ve known him since we were kids, and I’ve never seen him like this,” Dimitri said, placing a hand over Byleth’s. He looked back up, turning to look at his professor. 

“I’m going to take my leave, I’d like to relax a little before the next mission,” he said, bowing to Byleth and walking towards his room. Byleth noticed him pull a sleeve up to look at the timer on his wrist as he walked. Byleth looked at her own timer, having been spent for months. She wasn’t sure if Dimitri knew her timer ran out that day in Remire Village, but she likely suspected that he did. She still wasn’t 100% sure, but in her spare time, she’d been keeping an eye on Claude, trying to figure out about his timer. Why was he so intent on covering it up?


	4. Claude's Timer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Mystery of Claude's Timer, Eagles and Lions, and Jeralt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I'm jumping from point to point. It's fine, I didn't wanna spend a lot of time on things that contribute very little.

Why did Claude von Reigan keep his timer so secret? He was always making a conscious effort to conceal the numbers on his wrist, pulling at his sleeves to keep it hidden. Byleth had met him and Dimitri at the same time as her timer ran out, so she had no true idea if it was Claude or Dimitri. She caught Hilda aside one day to ask her a few questions.

“Oh, hey Professor! What’s up?” Hilda asked.

“I wanted to ask a couple questions about timers,” Byleth said. Hilda gave a small squeak, showing she was highly interested in the topic. 

“Ooh, timers! They count down to when you meet your soulmate! Oh, the romantic stories!” Hilda gushed. “So, what kind of questions?”

“So, for instance, hypothetically, someone’s timer runs out when they meet two different people at the same time. Which one is it?” Byleth asked. She had never really given the timers much mind until recently. 

“You find out by checking the timers on both of them. If one ran out but the other did not, then that’s the one, of course. Why, did that happen to you?” Hilda asked.

“No, I’m just interested. I didn’t pay much mind to these numbers until recently, and you students place a lot of value on them,” Byleth said, half-lying. While she did want to know more about the timers for that reason, she also wanted to find out if it was Dimitri who her timer ran out for. 

“Ooh, sounds interesting. I imagine you get lots of questions. But why ask me?” Hilda asked. She found it a bit suspicious that the Blue Lions’ professor was asking her questions.

“Well,” Byleth didn’t want to beat around the bush too much, “How long has Claude’s timer got left? And why does he make such an effort to hide it?”

Hilda sucked in a breath. 

“Claude’s timer… He didn’t want me telling anyone about it…”

“Oh, alright, if you’re not going to tell me-”

“Okay fine, you weaseled it out of me!”

That was easy.

“Okay, go on,” Byleth said.

“Well, Claude hides his timer because it still has twenty years left on it. He’s a bit embarrassed about it, that it’ll take him so long to meet the one. Oh, please don’t tell anyone I told you, especially Claude. He’ll get so mad!” Hilda said, hands clasped in a plea.

“I won’t tell anyone, that helped a lot. Thank you, Hilda,” Byleth said, bowing and taking her leave.

So, it was definitely Dimitri. Claude’s timer had so much time left on it, and Edelgard’s timer had run out when she was four, so Dimitri was the only candidate. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Battle of the Eagle and Lion was coming up soon. The monastery was buzzing with excitement. Sylvain had finally calmed down after about a month of anger and feeling sorry for himself. Flayn had just joined Byleth’s class and was more than excited to work with her. Byleth had everyone working hard to prepare for this tradition. 

By the time the battle came, Byleth was confident that her students were more than ready. 

Manuela had decided to sit out of the battle this year, due to her injuries sustained the previous month, and Hanneman decided to sit out in posterity with her. Byleth was surprised to learn she’d be the only professor on the battlefield that day, encouraged to do so by the other professors. Byleth felt it wasn’t fair but conceded. 

After the Blue Lions win the battle, all three houses got together and had a celebration that they would all remember for the rest of their lives. 

Dimitri wouldn’t stop glancing at his timer and at Byleth during the entire celebration.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jeralt was dead. Byleth had cried for the first time over him, and he died in her arms. Byleth shut herself away for a couple days, prompting Dimitri to try to console her. He hesitated in front of her quarters, then knocked on the door. 

“Come in,” Byleth said, sitting at her desk and not looking at the man entering her room.

“Professor, I came to see how you’re faring,” Dimitri said, his voice low and calm. He closed the door behind him. 

Byleth said nothing, staring at her desk, which was currently empty. She had packed away all the papers for fear of losing them in her sadness.

“Professor?”

Byleth still didn’t answer him. She simply looked at her hands as a single tear fell. 

“Dimitri, I’m sorry. I’m doing my be-”

“Professor, you don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to. You can just let me talk for a minute, if you’ll allow me to?” Dimitri asked. Byleth simply nodded.

“We, the Blue Lions, have been rather worried for you, hoping you’re taking care of yourself like you always encourage us to do. We’d just like to see you out in the world again.”

Byleth nodded, raising her head to finally look at Dimitri. She looked sad, like any semblance of happiness that might have been there before had been wiped away. She held eye contact for a moment before she looked back down at her desk. 

The sight almost broke Dimitri. 

“Thank you, Dimitri,” Byleth finally said after a moment of silence. Dimitri gave a soft smile.

“If there’s anything you need from me, please do not hesitate to ask. I bid you farewell,” he said, giving a small bow before he left.


	5. Changes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Green Hair and The Invasion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one is rather short but I didn't wanna start the timeskip in the middle of the chapter

Her hair and eyes had changed color. He saw her literally cut through the sky with that sword of hers and crawl out of wherever Solon had sent her. Dimitri couldn’t believe his eyes. What kind of power did she have? 

He later found out that the Goddess had shared her power with Byleth, causing her hair and eyes to go green. 

They get back to the monastery, and Dimitri is questioning her. 

“Why? What happened, what did you see, where did he send you?” Dimitri was a flurry of questions, and Byleth answered every single one, even if some of the answers were “I don’t know.”

To say everyone at the monastery was shocked at the new development was an understatement. Everyone seemed to be a flurry of questions, and Byleth answered what she could. 

It wasn’t until she got back to her private quarters that she got a moment of reprieve from the constant questions. She was willing to answer them, but they were so many, and she got tired of them rather quick. 

But the one person whose questions she was more than willing to answer was Dimitri. He didn’t ask as many as he did that first day, but he still asked questions.  
“So, how are you feeling, Professor?” Dimitri asked over tea that Byleth had invited him to. 

“I feel okay, nothing bad,” Byleth replied before taking a sip of her tea. She had accidentally used too much sugar in her tea, so it was sickeningly sweet. 

“What about your timer?” Dimitri asked hesitantly. Byleth raised an eyebrow and took a look at her timer. It looked the same as usual, still stuck on zero, indicating she had already met her soulmate. 

“It looks the same.”

Dimitri glanced down at his own timer, still on zero as it had been for months since he met Byleth. 

“That’s good, I suppose. I wouldn’t know if what you went through would mess with those any at all,” Dimitri remarked, taking a sip of tea. Byleth and Dimitri seemed to have run out of things to say to each other, so both of them just sipped their tea in silence. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That madwoman. She actually did it. She seized the throne from her aging father, became emperor, and declared war on the Church of Seiros. Byleth could hardly believe it. 

Dimitri had snapped when he found out Edelgard was the Flame Emperor. He almost got her but missed when he threw the lance at her. 

He wasn’t focused on his timer anymore. He was focused on being rid of Edelgard. 

Byleth was beside herself at his dramatic shift, she thought she knew him, but now he’s acting so different.

Felix came by to talk to her. 

“The boar prince finally shows his true nature. He’s ruthless. He won’t stop until he has her head,” Felix had said. Byleth couldn’t believe what she saw. 

Then she learned that Edelgard was to invade Garreg Mach. 

Byleth struck the blow that caused Edelgard to retreat, but then more forces marched in. 

The large white dragon that was Rhea appeared, and Byleth tried to help the people evacuate. The demonic beasts that were all over Rhea were stopping her from doing anything, so Byleth knocked one in the face, making it so Rhea could fight them off. 

The next thing Byleth remembers, it’s falling off a cliff. 

After that, darkness.


	6. I Miss You Dearly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timeskip, and a Letter on Byleth's Desk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I slept and now I'm back.

Byleth woke up in a small camp. Her coat was damp, and she was next to a fire being tended by a man she had never met. She sat up and looked around.

“Where am I?”

“Oh, you’re awake. You’re at my camp, near the monastery. But that place has been abandoned since… Well, you know. Tomorrow was supposed to be the Millennium Festival, but nobody’s able to focus on that right now, not with a war.”

What? 

“What year is it?” Byleth asked.

“Did you hit your head, lady? It’s the Ethereal Moon, of the Imperial year 1185.”

Byleth balked. She stood up and made to start walking towards the monastery when the man stopped her.

“Where are you going?”

“The monastery.”

“Are you crazy? Nobody’s lived there for five years, it’s rife with thieves,” the man said, trying to convince Byleth not to go.

“My students are waiting for me,” Byleth said, then started walking. She didn’t care what the man said after that. 

Five years beforehand, the students had vowed to meet again during the Millennium Festival, and Byleth was not about to go back on that promise. She made her way up to the Monastery and climbed up the Goddess Tower. She saw bodies strewn about in various places as she made her way up the stairs. Huddled up against the wall, clinging to a lance, was a man, slumped over, his long blond hair hiding his face. But Byleth recognized him instantly. 

Dimitri.

She took a deep breath and stepped into the rays of sunlight streaming in the window. Dimitri lifted his head a little to see who it was, then slumped back down. Byleth offered her hand, but Dimitri turned away.

“I always knew that someday, you would haunt me as well.”

“Dimitri…”

“What must I do to be rid of you…” 

Byleth stared in shock. Dimitri, how did you end up like this?

“I will kill that woman, I swear it. Do not look upon me with scorn in your eyes!”

“What are you talking about?” Byleth said, worry in her voice.

Hearing her speak shocked Dimitri. He couldn’t believe it.

“You… It can’t be! You’re alive?!” he said, shocked, but he found it too good to be true. 

“If that is the case, that can only mean you are another Imperial spy. Did you come here to kill me?” Dimitri said. 

Byleth hesitated. Of course, she didn’t, why would she? 

“Answer the question,” he said coldly, noticing her hesitation.

“Of course not,” she replied. Dimitri only sighed and started to walk away. 

“I’m glad you’re safe, Dimitri,” Byleth said. The words caused him to stop. 

“Am I?” 

He kept walking, and Byleth followed him until he got to the cathedral. Only then did Byleth finally get up the nerves to speak.

“What have you been doing the past five years?” she asked. 

“I have been dead, more or less.”

“Why do you say that?”

“What does it matter? What do you hope to gain by asking? There are more important things to attend to.”

“What do you-”

“Don’t you smell it? The stench of filthy rats, pillaging and slaughtering to their hearts’ content. I must kill them all.” Dimitri was cold in his speech, all feeling seemingly lost. 

Byleth was shocked to hear him say that. He was such a sweet boy back at the academy, beside himself when he had to take the lives of even the lowest of thieves on their many missions. Now here he was, talking about killing like it was nothing. 

“I’m sure you saw the state of the town on your way up here,” Dimitri continued. Byleth nodded, she had. The town was dilapidated, windows smashed, doors broken, not a sign of life save for the many thieves that ran amok. 

“What do you plan to do?” Byleth asked.

“Didn’t you hear me? I must kill them all,” Dimitri repeated, and Byleth winced a little at the tone in his voice.

“Do you think just the two of us can prevail?” she said, and Dimitri lowered his head.

“It doesn’t matter.”

Dimitri and Byleth made their way to the town, where thieves were pillaging the buildings. During the fight, as Byleth and Dimitri put down the thieves, the rest of the Blue Lions showed up, shocked to see the professor and Dimitri alive and well. They all finished the job and met back outside the monastery. 

“Your Highness, Professor, you’re alive! I can’t believe it, after so long,” Ingrid said, happy to see both of them. 

“Your Highness, I knew you were alive. But the jail cells in Fhirdiad are thick, how did you-” Gilbert was cut off.

“Dedue,” Dimitri said, the hint of sadness showing on his face.

“What?” Byleth said. The rest of the Blue Lions were shocked at this. 

“Dedue was sentenced in my place. He’s dead,” Dimitri said. Byleth was shocked.

“I can’t believe it…” Byleth said quietly. The silence lasted for a minute while everyone processed the news. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Everyone decided to make Garreg Mach Monastery their base of operations. Dimitri, constantly hanging around the cathedral, refused to talk to anyone, telling everyone to go away when approached. Byleth couldn’t understand what happened to him these past five years, why he’s acting this way. She glanced down at her timer, still on zero. It hurt for him to be so distant. He used to be fixated on that timer on his wrist. These days, he refused to show his wrists, so Byleth could never get even a glimpse of what his timer might say. It should still say zero, she remembered when his timer ran out in Remire Village. That was more than five years ago at this point. 

Byleth sat in her quarters, the same room she used during her time as professor. Nothing changed about the room, save for a layer of dust. But she did notice that there was an envelope on her desk with her name on it, written in what would have been an elegant script if it wasn’t for that it looked like it was written by a shaky hand. It looked dusty and the paper was slightly yellowed, like it had been there for a while. She picked it up and turned it over to see the envelope was still sealed with a wax stamp. She cracked the seal and opened the letter. The words were written in the same script as on the front of the envelope, elegant but shaky. She began to read.

_Day 27 of the Harpstring Moon, Imperial Year 1182_

~~_Professor,_ ~~ _Byleth,_

_I know you will never read this letter. But I feel I must get some things off of my chest. With your passing, it pains me to write, but I must._

_I know my timer ran out when we met in Remire Village, I’m certain you had figured it out yourself. I was beside myself with the idea that you of all people would be the person the Goddess intended for me. Sylvain kept trying to get me to just talk to you, but it felt inappropriate to attempt a courtship at the time, due to my being your student.  
_

__

__

_I have enjoyed the time we got to spend with each other, despite it being too short. There will never be anyone else. Stories of people whose soulmates passed on claim their timers never refreshed, that they just had to finish their lives alone. I’m afraid I am to share the same fate. I sorely wish you hadn’t met your fate in that battle, that you were by my side. You disappeared, and nobody could find you. Everyone presumed you dead. Everyone tried to console me, but I could not have that. I had to have her head for her war causing your demise._

_I do not think you are dead, not really. I’ve seen you pierce the sky and climb out of the darkness with my own eyes, I know you are capable of so much, so I cling to the however slim chance that you are not, in fact, dead. I don’t think you actually met your fate in that battle. I long to see you again, your face, rarely showing your emotion, but beautiful nonetheless. You were the light in my life, no matter how nervous I got speaking with you._

_I miss you dearly._

_Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd_

Byleth found herself tearing up a little at the letter. Dimitri hadn’t lost hope, but it had been years since he wrote this letter. With how surprised he was to see her alive, he had to have lost hope at some point between this letter and her showing up. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> that letter had me tearing up a little bit as I was writing it


	7. I Swear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How to Go On, and I Swear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost done I swear, lol

It was after Rodrigue had met his fate that Dimitri found himself in the stables by none other than Byleth herself. It had been a couple of months since Byleth found the letter on her desk in her quarters. Dimitri did not know she had found it, he hadn’t seemed to care. He seemed to have forgotten all about it. 

“What do you want,” Dimitri spat when he noticed her. 

“Dimitri, I just want to talk to you. What ails you?” Byleth asked. 

“Their voices. I will have her head, I swear it,” Dimitri growled. Byleth tilted her head in mild confusion, waiting for him to elaborate.

“The voices of the dead. My father. My stepmother. Glenn. And now Rodrigue. They plague me. How am I to keep living when they haunt me so?” Dimitri said, his voice breaking. 

“Dimitri…” Byleth started. She wanted to reach out and caress his face, but she knew that gesture would not be welcome, so she laid a hand on his shoulder instead. “You have to forgive yourself.”

Dimitri looked up in surprise, still turned away from Byleth. “Professor… No… Byleth,” he started, making Byleth look in surprise as he used her name. He turned to face her, a tear rolling down his face along with the rain. “How do I forgive myself? Do I, the lone survivor, even deserve to keep on?” He looked down at his hands. “My hands are stained red, I’m nothing but a monster.” Byleth noticed his hands and wrists were uncovered and noticed his timer. There was a gash across it, long healed, but still scarred. The numbers were intact, but the skin underneath them was damaged. It almost broke her to see this. He must have been overwhelmed with such grief at her perceived loss that he tried to cut at the timer that reminded him so much of her. 

Byleth simply offered him a hand, shocking him. He looked at it, longing to touch her hand. He finally did, shocked at how warm she was in the cold rain.

“Have your hands always been this warm?” he remarked, and Byleth smiled. Dimitri felt his heart soar, as he got to behold the wonderful sight once more. But it was not the time to take proper action. He still had healing to do, and he felt like the war had to take precedence. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Kingdom had just taken Fort Merceus. Dimitri found out about his stepmother’s desire to return to her family in the Empire, and her involvement with the Tragedy of Duscur. He had decided to let that topic rest, putting his mind only on the final battle ahead. 

Byleth prepared herself, and everyone else, for the final battle ahead, training constantly with her students. But before anything else, she had to speak with Dimitri about the letter she had found on her desk. She wanted to discuss it before the battle, so that if anything happened… Well, she didn’t want to think of that possibility. She met up with him in the cathedral, where he agreed to speak with her in her quarters. 

“You wanted to speak with me?” Dimitri asked as he closed the doors to her quarters behind him. His hair was pulled back, a few strands that were too short to be captured by the tie hanging out.

“I do, Dimitri. I wanted to have a heart-to-heart with you. I found this the day after I returned to the monastery,” Byleth said, presenting the letter, wax seal cracked to show it had been opened. Dimitri took it, looking it over, a tear threatening to fall. 

“I wrote that while the grief of losing you was still fresh and kept it on me until I returned to the monastery after the incident. After I thought Dedue had died. I couldn’t bear to hold on to it anymore, so I placed it in here, on your desk, as if leaving it in a tomb,” Dimitri said, his voice shaking. 

“When did you lose faith?” Byleth asked, almost too quiet for Dimitri to hear. His head snapped up in surprise. 

“I never truly did, but when I placed the letter on your desk, I was unsure. It almost felt like I was burying you when I left it, when I closed the door. But I didn’t want to cling to false hope only to find out you had actually…” Dimitri trailed off. Byleth placed a hand over his.

“Well, you know now,” Byleth said. Dimitri was silent for a moment. The moment was heavy and thick, as if one could cut it with a knife.

“Byleth, I want you to remain safe out there, when we take Enbarr, okay? I want you to swear it,” Dimitri said. Byleth lifted his hand and placed a kiss on the back of his hand. He started sputtering a little, blushing red. He obviously didn’t expect her to do that. 

“I swear to return,” Byleth said, and Dimitri calmed down. “I want you to swear you’ll come back with me.” 

Dimitri smiled, and Byleth’s heart soared. “I swear,” he said as he placed a kiss on her hand.


	8. My Beloved

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Confession

Edelgard was dead. Dimitri was nursing a stab wound in his shoulder but was alright overall. The healers, Mercedes included, had been working tirelessly to heal the wound. It was almost healed, but still required a bandage under his shirt. 

A few nights after they returned to Garreg Mach after the battle, Dimitri stood looking out the window of the Goddess Tower. He was pensive. He had a major question to ask Byleth, one that would change their lives forever. His hand in his pocket, he gave the small box a squeeze, a small but futile attempt to lessen his nerves as he waited for her. He glanced down at his timer, still on zero. It had been like that since he met her in Remire Village, and both of them had come so far since then. A school year and five and a half years of war stood between the moment he met his soulmate and the present moment, when he waited to ask her that question. 

When he heard the footsteps coming up the stairs, his heart jumped, as he knew who was making those steps. He took a deep breath and turned to face her.

Byleth was at the top of the stairs, and Dimitri couldn’t believe how beautiful she looked in the light. She had shed her coat, and he couldn’t help but consider himself incredibly lucky to have her as his soulmate.

“Byleth, you’re here,” Dimitri said, a massive smile on his face. Byleth smiled back, coming towards him.

“You wanted to see me?” she asked, and Dimitri had to take a moment to calm his nerves. Everything he had wanted to say flew out of his mind at that moment. He had practiced his speech loads of times alone in his room, once with Sylvain there, and it all left the second Byleth smiled at him.

“B-Byleth, I wanted to ask you a question, a rather important one at that,” Dimitri said, his face pink. Byleth smiled. The boy never truly changed, stuttering and red when romance came into the picture. Byleth found it incredibly charming. 

“Yes?”

“It’s just… Well, we’ve been through so much together, and I, well, greatly appreciate your role in my life. With that, I’d like to ask,” he said, dropping down to one knee and presenting the small box. Inside was a gorgeous ring with a green stone in the center. “Will you marry me?”

Byleth blushed, smiling. She paused for a moment, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a small bag. She opened it and pulled out the ring inside, holding it out. Dimitri was shocked to say the least. 

“Does this answer your question, Dimitri? The answer is yes, I love you,” Byleth said, stepping towards him and embracing him. Dimitri paused for a moment, and returned the embrace, one hand in her hair and the other on her back. 

“My beloved, I will always be by your side, if you will be by mine,” he said, and Byleth nodded. Dimitri’s face broke into another huge smile, almost not believing his luck, that the woman he knew was destined for him loved him dearly in return. They exchanged rings and embraced once more. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the dining hall, Sylvain, Annette, and Mercedes finished preparations for something, decorations all over the walls and tables, which were piled high with food, things that they knew were either Byleth’s or Dimitri’s favorite foods. Sylvain had to be reminded that Dimitri had told them he couldn’t taste things, but Sylvain had rebutted with the fact that just because he can’t taste doesn’t mean he doesn’t like the texture of things. 

About ten minutes later, Dimitri and Byleth came through the dining hall door, and the room fell silent.

“So, Dimitri, how’d it go?” Sylvain asked tentatively, just in case he had been flat out rejected.

“She said yes!” 

At that exact moment, the hall exploded with cheers from everyone, excited for the future marriage of the King and Archbishop. Soon, chants started ringing out.

“Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss!” Ashe had started the chant, but everyone in the hall joined in until Dimitri and Byleth obliged, causing the room to erupt in cheers again. 

Dimitri and Byleth were over the moon, and everyone was happy for them. Neither of them would forget this moment, not ever. They would remember this as long as they lived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally finished, this felt like a marathon sprint, as my typical fare is of the one-shot and drabble variety. 
> 
> This was so much fun to write, I love Soulmate AUs SO MUCH.


End file.
